DANIEL BLUE: MEET BYRON T. BETTS >>>

Byron T. Betts and I met several years ago in Crack Alley. He dated a friend that had just ended her marriage with another friend of mine.  I kind of thought Byron was a bag of poop for a while, but he lived next door to me and the more I saw him the more I liked him.  There is an irresistible charm to this strange man, if you can keep yourself from being wierded out, a tangible love for the people around him shines through.   

There was a summer somewhere in there, where late at night I would come out from my cave into the alley of crackedness, knowing that Byron would faithfully join me to smoke cigarettes and hug me goodnight.  When he temporarily moved out of the Alley to study make up design in Los Angeles, there were nights that I had trouble falling to sleep for lack of my goodnight buddy routine. 

Currently Byron is working for Valhalla Coffee, driving a spectacular beetle, and being a total pinko-commie-weirdo.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET MAUREEN MCHUGH >>>

Maureen McHugh is a Goddess of Tea and Natural Herbs.  She lives in Tacoma half of the week and lives across the bridge and deep in the forest of Gig Harbor the rest of the week.  She is the nicest and kindest herb and tea Goddess I have ever met. 

I met Maureen at the Mad Hat Tea Company when she and Tobin Ropes opened over a year ago.  We both knew we were going to be friends for a long time.  Any time I am feeling slightly under the weather, I stop in and describe my symptoms to her, every time so far she has a remedy already bagged that is named the very thing that I described.  "Icky throat situation," and "Panicked tired and drugged" are a few of my favorites. 

Maureen is a master with the brush and a bottle of India ink, too. She buys in bulk and creates beautiful scripts and illustrations with the fervor of an enchanter's scribe. 

Do not call her a cupcake, she is a proper crumpet, the mad hat is full of silly people like you who think they know what they are dealing with.  Only I do, I think.

MICHAEL SWAN: SEE YOUR FUTURE, BE YOUR FUTURE >>>

TACOMA SHOP TALK: Tacoma business networking opportunity.
Tuesday, June 17, 5-7:30 p.m., Paddy Coyne’s, 815 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.

BANNED BOOK CLUB: Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher will be discussed over drinks.
Tuesday, June 17, 7 p.m., Tempest Lounge, 913 MLK Way, Tacoma.

LOCAL LIVING LOUNGE: Support local farmers, organizations and businesses and check out the Local Living Lounge for hands-on community interaction.
Thursday, June 19, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., no cover, Broadway Tacoma Farmers Market, Broadway between Ninth and 11th, downtown Tacoma.

CRUISE WITH LOVE TACOMA: Sold out.
Thursday, June 19.

FROST PARK CHALK CHALLENGE: Tacoma community draws on the sidewalk for prizes and mean looks from the City of Tacoma street sweepers.
Friday, June 20, noon, free, Ninth and Commerce, downtown Tacoma.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET JOSEPH MONTES >>>

Joseph Montez Montes was born in Michigan in 1983 and moved to Tacoma two years ago.  He took a job as a reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune but has since ended his working relationship with the corporation for reasons he did not discuss.   

He is currently working for MultiCare in an unspecified manner and rediscovering the Tacoma social scene. 

When I asked him what he liked about this town he took some time to formulate his thoughts and carefully said, "the art scene in Tacoma is like any other in America.  It seems impenetrable and arrogant, but if you just take time to know it and the people involved, it will take you in and you too can appear arrogant and impenetrable." 

There seems to be no end to the good things Joseph has to say about this place. 

"It's the kind of town where a guy can walk down the street with a banana in his pants without being questioned for it." 

I asked him immediately if that was a banana in his pants or if he was just happy to see me.  He said, "both." 

I'm happy to see him, too. Joseph is one of us.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET KRIS JENSON >>>

Kris Jenson was born in Sarasota, Fla. in nineteen and eighty-two.  His family moved to the city when he was, "this many (holds up four fingers)."   He went to Rodgers Elementary, split junior high between Stewart and Curtis and found himself at Lincoln High School until he decided to try Running Start at Tacoma Community College.   Currently he works for State Farm Insurance in DuPont, but I have no idea in what capacity.  I'm sure it's devastating to his artist's soul, but we all have to eat. 

Kris is actually a photographer.  His images are provocative and actually just plain fun to examine.  I find they hold my attention longer than other images I see day to day - I think this is due to the tortured soul of their creator. 

Kris is a cat man, like myself, and has a cute purrball in his apartment that is very personable. 

You can generally find Kris hanging at the Hob Nob's Side Door Lounge where he regularly buys me a drink.  What a generous and friendly fellow. 

I have known this awesome bastard since I moved here, and his beard is better than yours. 

Kris says, "The thing I like about Tacoma is that there is nothing to hate about Tacoma."

DANIEL BLUE: MEET RYAN WHINERY >>>

Ryan Whinery was born in George Orwell's favorite year (1984) and raised right here in vapid Tacoma. Partly home schooled through elementary and then shoved into the hands of the public school system at Fawcett Elementary, he then attended Stewart Middle School and a trilogy of high schools way too hard for me to spell.

When I met him he was drumming the hell out of an awesome rockabilly band called The Vamanos, and we were enemies. Both of our hearts were set on a cute hairstylist who then worked at Embellish Multispace Salon by the name of Rachel Morshead. Neither of us turned out to be fit for her, and we became friends on the night of a full moon, having ninja-scaled our way onto a rooftop near the old Silent Studios, where Ryan lived and played. 

For a time this drumming maniac was gone from us, touring construction jobs out of our state. When I asked him what brought him back he said simply, "Family, friends, climate, environment and greenery."

This is the kind of man you can trust to tell you the truth. His piercing wolf like ice blue eyes seem to take you in and process your entire soul.

Ryan is still drumming for The Vamanos, and learning the art of construction contracting.

FESTIVAL
Juneteenth
Many may not know that Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom by commemorating June 19, 1865- the day that Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the Civil War had ended and Southern slaves were finally free.

This celebration is the oldest known commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. While marking that pivotal date, Juneteenth is also about encouraging self-development, unity and respect for all cultures.

This year's Tacoma Juneteenth celebration is open to everyone and features guest speakers Bishop C. Edwards Pringler, Stella Haioulani, General Wojack, Fatimah and many others, plus music, spoken word, food, and raffles, and it will afford attendees the opportunity to learn about Tacoma's African-American history.- Michael Swan
[People's Park, Saturday, June 14, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., free, South Ninth Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.759.0373]

ART
The Neddies
The Neddies are here again. The Neddy Fellowships are among the most prestigious art awards in the state and are granted each year to two worthy Washington state artists in honor of longtime Seattle painter Robert "Ned" Behnke, who died in 1989. Every year for the past four years Tacoma Art Museum has shown works by the winners and nominees. The Neddy Artist Fellowship 2008 exhibit opens Saturday night with live music, hors d-oeuvres and a no-host bar. - Alec Clayton
[Tacoma Art Museum, Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m., $10, members free, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.4258]

SINGER/SONGWRITER
Dave Roberts
On Dave Roberts' business cards, his title reads: -Songwriter / Entertainer and all around good guy. I don't think I could've said it any better myself. At least, that's not what I would say about myself. I am far from being a good guy.

If you've ever had the chance to catch guitarist Dave doing his acoustic cover (with a Mexican flare) thing on any given Tacoma night at any given Tacoma bar, you've seen an entertainer at his best.

Dave Roberts will be empowering Meconi's Pub & Eatery Saturday night. This offers up a great opportunity to hang out, listen to the musical stylings of Roberts, and sip on some of Meconi's righteous beer selections. This event is for the big kids to play, so leave the minors at home. - Steph DeRosa
[Meconi's Pub & Eatery, 7 p.m., 709 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.383.3388]

SPORTS
Roller derby
The Dockyard Derby Dames are real, they rock, they have heart, and they skate like they live, with energy and vivacity and a bit or Rawr for good measure. Whether you're high-brow, monster-truckin', perverse, or hipster. Certainly the past packed-house crowds reflected that, with little kids running amongst an old woman with a walker and all ages and types in between, who watched assorted cool fishnets, cleavage, and butt-cheeks. - Jessica Corey-Butler
[Tacoma Soccer Center, Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m., $10-$12, 2610 Bay St. E., Tacoma, www.dockyardderbydames.com]

ALT-COUNTY
Jeffery Halford and the Healers
While Ryan Adams is credited with popularizing alt-country, he never really did it for me. I like my country a bit more rough around the edges, and Jeffery Halford and the Healers fit my liking. The San Francisco-based, Dallas-born and-raised Halford is a singer/songwriter who plays a mean six-string. With shades of country, blues and rock and roll, he and his band play with a fiery fury that is raucously delightful.

Growing up, he was inundated with music by everyone from Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck to Johnny Cash and Elvis and books by Walt Whitman and Dylan Thomas. It was these two mediums that shaped Halford as an artist. His personal story would make a great movie as he gave up architecture schooling to become a street singer in San Francisco until the police shut down his corners. This led him to Oakland where he played alongside blues legends Sonny Lane, Mississippi Johnny Waters and JJ Malone. His hard living as a young man prepared him to pen honest accounts of brawling, boozing and loving, and he is about as authentic as the day is long. - Tony Engelhart
[Jazzbones, 8:30 p.m., $8, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

LINK: South 11th & Sarah Connor CD Release Party and more in the clubs tonight.
LINK: The movie starting times are here.
LINK: Let's eat Mexican today.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET JASON GANWICH >>>

Jason Ganwich has lived in beautiful Tacoma for the entirety of his life. Born and raised on the seedy soil and tepid tap of this glorious gridded peninsula, Ganwich knows most everyone you know and has the stories that you want to hear about your friends. 

An excellent and artistic photographer and filmmaker, this icon of Tacoma culture can be seen at weddings, parties, funerals, and most any other event that asks to be remembered.

Ganwich is a master of the human image, possessing some perhaps alien understanding of the figurative gesture. Of the many that have tried, Ganwich has taken the best picture, in my humble opinion, of me. One quarter of the population of the world should have themselves filmed being photographed by this genius behind the lens.

One of the first people I met here, I was outside the Kickstand Cafe having a conversation with Austen Hoogen (a fellow filmmaker) when Ganwich dropped into the conversation and invited me out for a drink. I was delighted at the friendliness of these two chaps, and agreed immediately. They took me to a bar of their choosing, seeing as I had no idea where anything was, and as I walked down the steps of the Silverstone, I noticed the rainbow flags hanging in the hallway.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET AINSLEE K. MARSHAL >>>

Ainslee K. Marshal is a pocket rocket. A third generation Tacoma girl, she attended Lowell Elementary, Mason Middle School and Stadium High School. She is currently a student at Tacoma Community College.

She has lived in every district our fine city has to offer. This is believable because when I met her she lived at the New Castle Apartments on Division near the Frisco Freeze, and for a time she lived where I am now living at the Wherehouse, and now she lives off Sixth near the costume shop.

She claims to have met me outside the Kickstand Cafe (I have no memory of this) where I rolled up on a skateboard one day, sat down, and started talking to her about my relationship problems. Who knows who the hell I was dating then? It could have been anybody. I remember getting rather tipsy in her kitchen. She would let us smoke out the window.

A patient hand gives this wonderful friend the ability to spend the hours necessary to produce beautiful embroidered artworks that she is hoping to combine with custom clothing to sell at the urbanXchange.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET KYLE BURNETTE >>>

Kyle Burnette was born on Oct. 24, 1984 and moved to Tacoma at the lucky age of 7.

This melancholy rocker has been playing tight stringy surf tones since I met him at Bob's Java Jive when he was a member of local math rock legends, Adviso. At the time he was also playing for an artsy threesome called Muffin Man and working on his long time personal project, Friskey. 

When we first became friends he would invite me to listen to demo tapes on the cassette deck in his plush lined grandpa car. Sometimes we would go on drives just to smoke ciggies and talk about random things like the great songwriting of Elton John. Oh the days of dollar fifty gallon.

Currently Kyle is playing shows and recording with that sensational four piece of musical calligraphy, The Elephants, and also preparing to release an album for his longtime love Friskey.

I'm pretty convinced at this point that Kyle Burnette is a savant: the awkwardian pose, the passive and near rhythmic clearing of the throat, the structural and brilliant guitar, this young man breathes genius. Its hard to imagine him being satisfied by normal human stimulation, if it wasn't for music, he perhaps would have to seek another planet to find peace.

Don't be fooled into letting your girlfriends too close, under that pink jacket is a total ladies man.